The High Price Of Greek Cruising Taxes

Created by doina. Last modified on 2008-01-26 08:48:17
Countries: Greece

Reading about the boat that spent a year cruising in Greece and only spent 80 Euros in cruising taxes,

(see Response To News Report On Greek Yacht Taxes )

this boat was obviously an EU registered boat with EU citizens on board. Either that or they just left Greece without going through the process of getting clearance from the police, customs and port police. As a foreign-flagged boat and my wife a non-EU citizen, we were told that if we were to stay in Greece for 91 days, my wife would have to pay 600 Euros for a 1-month extension and 600 Euros per month for every month thereafter. We would also have to pay a Cruising Tax of 14.96 Euros plus VAT per meter per month for each of the three months already spent in Greece plus 18.10 per meter per month for each successive month.

We are a small boat at 10.43 metres, but for us to stay in Greece for one year, it would cost us over 5,000 Euros for visa renewals and 2,300 Euros for the Cruising Tax.

The boat owner who couldn't see any reason to complain obviously doesn't understand the problem. The tax and visa charges only apply to non-EU boats with non-EU crew and only when the boat is in Greece for over 90 days.

Jim McMaster